The Waterfall
by howdoyoudosir
Summary: Alex panicked. He thrashed violently as he toppled over the edge of the waterfall, leaving him falling into a whirlpool of raging waters below. Thankfully a certain Russian assassin is there to save the young spy once again. Snakehead re-run.
1. The Fall

1- The Fall

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AN: Hey guys :) This is my first Alex Rider fanfic; so be gentle :) I've had this idea ever since I read this scene in Snakehead last year. I've got tons of other idea's of alternate endings to scenes; and I'm ashamed to say that 9 out of 10 of them contain the infamous Russian assassin, Yassen. Much like John, I have a soft spot for him too. You should have seen the look on my face when AHorowitz killed him off; I was not amused. Okay, I'm just gonna shuddup now :)

Warnings: Mild swearing

* * *

He was splashing wildly, trying to escape his attackers as they chased him down the river. His left leg was raw red from scraping against the rough edge of the helicopter float. He ignored it. He had bigger issues right now.

_[Like the assassins in helicopters behind me]_

Suddenly a shot rang out, brushing his right shoulder. He swore, as he saw the familiar red liquid quickly soaking his damp t-shit. He heard a hushing sort of noise.

No. It was more like rushing. He frowned. _[What th-]_

The makeshift canoe flipped, leaving Alex capsized. He didn't panic too much; after all, Ian had taught him all the tricks of canoeing. But the attackers didn't need to know that, of course.

He held his breath, counting slowly in his head. Maybe they would think he was dead and turn back? He crossed his fingers. Soon the urge to take a breath became unbearable. Black spots obscured Alex's vision, as he gripped tightly onto the side of the canoe. He knew that if he didn't take a breath soon it'd kill him instead of the killers behind.

What felt like forever later, Alex heard the blades of the helicopter decrease in volume and the vibrations in the water lessened.

He flipped.

After taking a few spluttering breaths he glanced around and saw to his delight, he saw no lurking assassins in the dim sky. Just a small dot getting smaller and smaller. They were gone.

Alex let out an audible sigh. That had been too close. A sudden pain in his shoulder made him wince. Right, the bullet.

He frowned. That rushing noise was still there. Alex's eyes narrowed at the persistent noise and he searched the landscape looking for a cause of it. It sounded like it was coming from further down the … the river.

_[No…]_

He squinted and saw that in the distance there was no longer any land either side of the river. In his haste to get away from Major Yu and his freakishly freaky scheme to get Alex's organs; he forgot that waterfalls were common here.

_[Bloody fantastic]_

He had escaped murderous captors only to die by falling off a waterfall. And a big one at that.

Well, he couldn't let that happen! He immediately used his arms to try and pull himself onto the bank but the attempt was futile. The water was too powerful, the bank was too far away. And he hurt. A lot.

He hissed in pain as he moved his shoulder quickly. He stopped his pathetic paddling because deep down he knew; there was no escape.

He could see the waterfall approaching, as the land just seemed to suddenly just stop. If Alex hadn't been pulled furiously towards it in a life threatening situation, he might have admired the view. A sudden speck of rain on his head alerted him to the grey clouds above.

[Well at least the weather mimics my mood] He thought miserably.

It was approaching. His heart was beating faster with every meter he travelled. He swallowed dryly. This was it.

At last second, he decided to abandon the makeshift canoe; knowing it would only damage his legs further. Before he knew it the canoe had fallen off the edge. And then Alex fell.

Wind whipped through his hair and droplets of water drenched him within seconds. It felt somewhat soothing against his heated skin. But he didn't have time to notice this. He was falling down a massive waterfall. Speaking of which; how much longer would he be falling for?

A few more painful seconds passed before he felt himself several meters underwater, being swirled around in a vicious whirlpool. He felt like he was in a massive bath and someone had just pulled a big plug.

His head suddenly collided with a rough rock and the black dots from early came back in full force. He felt himself be pulled in and pushed out in all directions; with water falling heavily on top of him. A sudden wave of water caused him to back forcefully into a jagged stone wall. He screamed out in pain, but the water around his throat were like hands seizing his neck.

He was wearing down. That was the only thought running through his muzzy head. And the fact that he _had _to escape. All his energy was nearly gone. With all his remaining strength he powerfully swam what he thought was upwards, desperate for some air. He spluttered and flailed in the water, taking in a lung full of air before being sucked back into a foggy dark depth. He continued swimming in any way possible; determined to reaching anything.

He squinted through the water. Was that the side of a bank? He tiredly pulled himself towards it; fighting the ever persistent current. He felt himself break through the water and find air again; he gasped and breathed erratically. Red liquid dripped down his head, tinting his golden locks. Things were getting distant. His arms were now numb and _…No…_

He felt the current change; yet again. It felt as if cold, ice hands, had wrapped themselves around his ankles. He had no energy to fight. He looked up to the bank, through the murky water. He had been so close. Before he knew what was happening an arm suddenly caught his wrist, enclosing it securely. Alex looked up again, and saw a distorted figure. Alex always wondered why the water did that. Made things all wiggly, that is. _[Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought…]_

He felt himself be pulled out the water and laid gently on his back as the darkness returned. He happily welcome it, to escape from the pain.

This person didn't let him though. Some slaps to the face and chest compressions later Alex was coughing up murky water gasping for breath; collapsed on the muddy bank.

"Breath, little Alex" A familiar Russian voice soothed. He somehow registered that he should be trying to get away from this man. But he was tired. And he didn't seem like a threat for now. He let the darkness claim him, with no objection from the mystery man.

* * *

If anyone was wondering, this isn't going to be a slash, but you can still read it as one! Alex is far too innocent in my eyes. Besides; I want him for myself...


	2. The Assassin

2 - The Assassin

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I'm not very good with apologizes, but I think one is in order. *Hangs head* I didn't realise I wouldn't update for..um..8 months... Deary me! I deserve to go down that Waterfall instead of Alex. Though, thats not going to happen, because I don't want a big gash on my head. Oh, and I don't really want to get shot at either.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it...blah blah blah. I'm rambling. Bye!

* * *

Small droplets of water freckled down onto Alex's face, urging him to wake up. With a dazed head and a throbbing shoulder he squinted up to see dark clouds above. He moved to prop himself up on his elbows, but a hand held him down on the muddy bank.

"Wha-" In a panicked frenzy he started to move away from the hand, only causing him to choke. Water gushed out of Alex's mouth, making him cough and splutter. With deep breaths he collapsed back against the bank again, exhausted.

"I feared you still had water in you." A Russian voice said thoughtfully from above him. His heart hammered in his chest. He squinted up again to see…

Yassen..?

His eyes bulged.

"But you- I saw you! You died and…what?" Alex asked in a hurry, frowning. With a huge sigh he lifted his arm and lay it across his head. "I'm so confused." He moaned. Lifting his arm back up again he was surprised to see a red sticky liquid tainting it.

[_Blood_]

"Woah, what.." Alex said, pushing himself carefully up into a sitting position.

"You have a head wound." Yassen said, frowning and crouching down closer to Alex. He carefully pushed the younger spies fringe out of his eyes, pushing it back over his head and leant forward to inspect the wound. Alex sat very still.

This was the closest the assassin had ever been to him. His heart pounding and fear coursing through him, he pulled away slightly. Yassen's hand fell from his head, releasing Alex's fringe, which covered the gash in his head.

Alex swallowed. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his head spinning.

Yassen looked at him, as if deciding whether to tell Alex or not. "That is of no concern to you." He said before resting back on the balls of his feet.

"We must move. Do you require assistance?" He asked, standing up from his crouched position.

"No, I'm fine." Alex said, standing up slowly. He gritted his teeth as his body was engulfed in pain.

His legs were sore from being scraped in the canoe.

His head throbbed from being hit against that stupid stupid rock.

His back prickled from various scratches and scrapes.

But most of all, his shoulder _burnt_.

Taking slow and steady steps he made his way beside the assassin, face pale.

In the distance, sirens could be heard and Alex looked behind at the waterfall, before looking back at Yassen.

"Looks like someone's escaped." He said, giving Alex a '_look_'.

"How come you automatically assume that I'm involved?" Alex said, hurt. Yassen raised an eyebrow.

"Come. We must leave now." Yassen said, before walking swiftly through a few trees. Alex carefully stumbled behind him, ignoring the persistent pain in his shoulder.

"Still as infuriating as ever I see." He muttered.

* * *

What seemed like hours later, they came upon a clearing. Alex wearily looked around him, expecting a fleet of people with guns to attack them then.

[_Them_]

Alex chanced a glance at Yassen. He hadn't uttered a word since they were back at the waterfall. Then again, neither had Alex. Scrubbing at his eyes, he couldn't help but feel so tired. They'd been walking forever, when were they going to get there? And where was 'there' exactly?

"Where are we going?" Alex asked, voicing his curiosity. Yassen looked down at him.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask that hours ago." He mused, not seeming surprised. His usual blank face was in place.

"You didn't answer the question." Alex said, tiredly.

"You'll see." Is all the Russian said, and Alex had to refrain from rolling his eyes. The Russian continued at a brisker pace. Alex found it hard to keep up with him, especially in his current condition. Looking down, he saw specks of blood stained into his top. He frowned, was there any part of him that wasn't bruised, battered or bleeding?

[_I must look a mess_] He thought miserably, before trudging on.

Some 10 minutes later, a small wooden house came into view. Though Alex nearly missed it there were so many trees obscuring his vision. Well, that and the fact that he was unquestionably sleepy now. He had to keep himself from tripping over on several occasions. Though he had stumbled many times, which embarrassed him to no end.

Walking up the door, Alex leant against the wall, as Yassen got the key out of his pocket. Alex heard the key go into the lock, but he no longer cared, his eyes had slipped closed, his head pounding.

"Come on." Yassen said, in a strong accent. Alex wearily pushed himself off of the wall and carefully made his way into the older mans house. Well, what he assumed was his house.

Stepping in, he noticed that they were in a badly lit hall way. Pushing a door open to the right Yassen went though, putting on some lights.

"Sit." He said, indicating to the sofa. It was large and brown leather pushed up against the wall. Next to it was a window, with a window sill which was big enough to hold someone on. It had cushions which were elegant and soft looking.

Looking around he saw a small door which Yassen had gone through. He frowned. A sudden twinge in his knee reminded him of the constant pain [everywhere]. He gingerly settled himself on the edge of the sofa. No more than a minute later the Russian had returned with a small box.

"Take off your top." Yassen said bluntly, unclipping the box. Alex looked up sharply, before realising that he wanted to address Alex's wounds. After pulling off his top, he chanced a look down at himself and instantly regretted it. His torso had many scrapes on it, and there were several coloured bruises blurring together. But worst of all was his shoulder which had clotted blood at the top where the bullet went though.

[_Ouch_] didn't even begin to describe it.

A few hisses and groans later found Alex exhausted, collapsed against the back of the plush sofa. Everything hurt [more] despite the fact it was clean and bandaged now.

"I still need to clean your head wound." Came a voice. Opening his eyes he saw Yassen, standing in front of the couch with a wet cloth in his hand and several other bandage-y-things. Alex didn't know.

He sighed, about to pull himself up into a standing position, but Yassen sat down beside him.

"Put your head in my lap."

…_what_?

Alex looked at him through sleepy eyes, questioning him.

"Your fringe will just get in the way." He justified. Slowly, Alex lowered his head onto the Russians lap, and propped his legs up on the sofa.

Well, this wasn't a position he expected to be in.

Brushing Alex's hair back, he applied the cool cloth to his forehead. Alex's eyes slipped closed on their own accord. He felt gentle touches here and there but apart from that he was slowly unwinding and sinking further into the sofa. He hadn't been this comfortable in _ages._

He sighed.

"So, how _did_ you su'vive?" Alex asked, whilst listening to the gentle pitter-patter of ran outside the window.

"I could ask you the same question." He said, gently touching the bullet wound over Alex's heart. The spy shivered.

"Th't's a story for 'nother time." Alex said sleepily, absolutely refusing to think of Scorpia right then.

"As is mine." A voice said from above him, brushing his hair back again.

And as Alex drifted to sleep he couldn't help but wonder just how he gets himself into these situations.

* * *

There we have it. I really hope it was worth the wait guys :)

I'd just like to remind you all that this is _not _going to be a slash fic! Though you are more than welcome to read it that way :)

Also...

**What is a good villian name? **Much appreciated peeps!


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